Job 31:1-7

Job Vindicates Himself

31:1 “I made a covenant with ¹  my eyes;

how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin? ² 

31:2 What then would be one’s lot from God above,

one’s heritage from the Almighty ³  on high?

31:3 Is it not misfortune for the unjust,

and disaster for those who work iniquity?

31:4 Does he not see my ways

and count all my steps?

31:5 If ⁴  I have walked in falsehood,

and if ⁵  my foot has hastened ⁶  to deceit –

31:6 let him ⁷  weigh me with honest ⁸  scales;

then God will discover ⁹  my integrity.

31:7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way,

if my heart has gone after my eyes, ¹⁰ 

or if anything ¹¹  has defiled my hands,

[31:1]  ¹ tn The idea of cutting a covenant for something may suggest a covenant that is imposed, except that this construction elsewhere argues against it (see 2 Chr 29:10).

[31:1]  ² tn This half-verse is the effect of the covenant. The interrogative מָה (mah) may have the force of the negative, and so be translated “not to pay attention.”

[31:2]  ³ tn Heb “lot of Shaddai,” which must mean “the lot from Shaddai,” a genitive of source.

[31:5]  ⁴ tn The normal approach is to take this as the protasis, and then have it resumed in v. 7 after a parenthesis in v. 6. But some take v. 6 as the apodosis and a new protasis in v. 7.

[31:5]  ⁵ tn The “if” is understood by the use of the consecutive verb.

[31:5]  ⁶ sn The verbs “walk” and “hasten” (referring in the verse to the foot) are used metaphorically for the manner of life Job lived.

[31:6]  ⁷ tn “God” is undoubtedly the understood subject of this jussive. However, “him” is retained in the translation at this point to avoid redundancy since “God” occurs in the second half of the verse.

[31:6]  ⁸ tn The word צֶדֶךְ (tsedeq, “righteousness”) forms a fitting genitive for the scales used in trade or justice. The “scales of righteousness” are scales that conform to the standard (see the illustration in Deut 25:13-15). They must be honest scales to make just decisions.

[31:6]  ⁹ tn The verb is וְיֵדַע (vÿyeda’, “and [then] he [God] will know”). The verb could also be subordinated to the preceding jussive, “so that God may know.” The meaning of “to know” here has more the idea of “to come to know; to discover.”

[31:7]  ¹⁰ sn The meaning is “been led by what my eyes see.”

[31:7]  ¹¹ tc The word מֻאוּם (mu’um) could be taken in one of two ways. One reading is to represent מוּם (mum, “blemish,” see the Masorah); the other is for מְאוּמָה (mÿ’umah, “anything,” see the versions and the Kethib). Either reading fits the passage.